Nashville rockers Bully are a consistent source of vibrant, fuzzy guitar rock. We’ve heard a handful of tracks from their forthcoming album Sugaregg, and the singles promise the band’s most polished and exciting work to date. It’s an album that was written during a chaotic period (something we are all familiar with at this point), when leader Alicia Bognanno turned to music as a method of finding clarity and pressing onward.
Ahead of the album’s release later this month, Bognanno sat down to talk playing Bonnaroo, A Tribe Called Quest, and Everclear in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Spicy, Loud, Cathartic, sassy.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
Timeless I suppose.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
Chicago, Minneapolis, Sydney.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
There’s not really one person that’s inspired most of my work. I would say it’s a combination of people and experiences that have made me angry or feel some type of way emotionally that has inspired the majority of my work.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
Truly Burger King, The impossible Burger. I’m only being honest.
What album do you know every word to?
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
Playing Bonnaroo was the first time I attended and being able to walk from stage to stage and watch huge acts perform after we were done playing was mind blowing. That whole experience in general was very motivating.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
An outfit that you don’t have to think about. I like jeans and a T-shirt and some type of sneakers because I’m most comfortable in it and I never want to be distracted by what I’m wearing or worrying about my wardrobe while I’m on stage. Though it is badass when people are able to do both!
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
“Turn Up On The Weekend” by Branchez And Big Wet.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
Why do I feel nauseous.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
Death By Audio when they were still running, it was like an adult playground.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
One year, one of my sisters gave me a collection of little things she said that reminded her of me for my birthday and the collection included a stick on tattoo of a frumpy elephant sitting in the water, it’s the elephant from the waist up sitting water like a human, I carried it around in my wallet forever (I still have it in there). A year or so later I went with my mom to get tattoos and I didn’t have anything planned so I just had them tattoo the elephant on my butt and then sent my little sister a picture of it.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
Everclear.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
I’ve volunteered at the women’s shelter for the past five or six years and one day I was in hermitage cafe (a diner in Nashville) at like 5 or 6 in the morning and saw one of the security guards from the shelter eating. I said hi to him and then went to eat my food. When I went to pay they said he had already paid for it and I’ll never forget it. He was so sweet, it wasn’t a creepy situation it was genuinely just an act of kindness.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Stand up for yourself, if something feels wrong it probably is AND ALSO you can do anything if you work hard enough even if nobody believes in you and tries to talk you out of it! It’s corny but true gotta use that anger to fuel your drive, prove em wrong babbbyyy!!
What’s the last show you went to?
I truly don’t remember.
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
Fleabag, PEN15, Broad City – those are some of the best shows out there I’ll tell you what.
What would you cook if Kanye were coming to your house for dinner?
Oooooh boy I dunno maybe some mozzarella sticks.
Sugaregg is out August 21 on Sub Pop. Pre-order here.